Category: employment

Ali v Heathrow Express Operating Company Ltd & Anor – Equality Law Blog

Posted May 25th, 2022 in airports, appeals, employment, employment tribunals, equality, Islam, news, religious discrimination, terrorism by sally

‘This decision is a reminder that, where unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic is not intended to offend, intimidate, etc, an objective test applies to the question whether conduct amounts to harassment. The claimant was a Muslim employee of Heathrow Express. He complained of harassment and direct discrimination connected with religion after receiving an email concerning a security test carried out by the second respondent, which was responsible for carrying out security checks at Heathrow Airport and Heathrow Express stations at the airport. The test in question had involved a bag containing a box, some electric cabling and, visible at the top, a piece of paper with the words “Allahu Akbar” written in Arabic. The email reporting on the results of the test and included images of the bag and the note.’

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Equality Law Blog, 24th May 2022

Source: equalitylawblog.com

First EAT consideration of a Covid-19 related dismissal – St Philips Barristers

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, coronavirus, employment, employment tribunals, health & safety, news, unfair dismissal by sally

‘In what is believed to be the first Appellate consideration of a Coronavirus related dismissal the EAT (HHJ Tayler) upheld the judgment of the Leeds Employment Tribunal (EJ Anderson) that the Claimant’s Coronavirus related absence dismissal was not automatically unfair for a health and safety reason pursuant to s100(d)-(e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.’

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St Philips Barristers, 6th May 2022

Source: st-philips.com

How Has the Pandemic Changed the City Workplace? Top 10 Legal Issues in the Post-Pandemic Workplace – Littleton Chambers

Posted May 20th, 2022 in age discrimination, chambers articles, coronavirus, data protection, employment, equality, flexible working, health & safety, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘The last two years have accelerated a number of trends which had already started to gain traction. The most obvious one is the move to remote working.’

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Littleton Chambers, 17th May 2022

Source: littletonchambers.com

Limitation and Retrospective Effect: Abdelsalam v Expresso Telecom Group Ltd – Littleton Chambers

Posted May 18th, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, employment, limitations, news, time limits by sally

‘James Bickford Smith and James Green review the recent judgment of the Dubai International Financial Centre Court of Appeal in Abdelsalam v Expresso Telecom Group [2021] DIFC CA 011. The decision resolved uncertainty as to whether the 2019 Employment Law could render earlier-issued claims under the 2005 Law out of time, and confirmed the presumption that DIFC law should not have retrospective effect.’

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Littleton Chambers, 11th May 2022

Source: littletonchambers.com

Calling a man ‘bald’ is sexual harassment, employment tribunal rules – The Guardian

Posted May 13th, 2022 in compensation, employment, employment tribunals, equality, harassment, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘Calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled. Hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination, a judge has concluded. Commenting on a man’s baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts, the finding suggests.’

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The Guardian, 13th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Litigant banned over ‘unjustified’ complaints to regulators – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 9th, 2022 in barristers, employment, employment tribunals, law firms, news, nurses, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority, unfair dismissal, vexatious litigants by sally

‘A former nurse who made “wholly inappropriate and unjustified allegations of wrongdoing” against lawyers has been banned from bringing proceedings for two years by a High Court judge, who said regulators must be “astute in identifying litigants who abusively use [the] regulatory process”.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘It strips your humanity’: Civil servant wins six-figure sum over ‘insidious’ Ministry of Justice racism – The Independent

Posted May 9th, 2022 in civil servants, compensation, damages, employment, equality, Ministry of Justice, news, race discrimination, racism by sally

‘A former civil servant received a six-figure pay-out from the government over discrimination after she says was subjected to “insidious” racism during a 20-year battle with the Ministry of Justice.’

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The Independent, 8th May 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Acoustic shock claim back on after ‘fundamental error’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 6th, 2022 in accidents, appeals, damages, employment, expert witnesses, news, noise, personal injuries, setting aside, telecommunications by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has revived an acoustic shock claim after a finding that the defendant’s evidence was incorrect and the judge was considering the wrong issue.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Post Office scandal victims still waiting for compensation – BBC News

Posted April 25th, 2022 in compensation, computer programs, employment, fraud, miscarriage of justice, news, postal service, theft, victims by sally

‘A year since wrongful convictions of subpostmasters were first overturned, most say they are no closer to agreeing a financial compensation settlement.’

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BBC News, 23rd April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Harassment in employment?: Ali v Heathrow Express – Law & Religion UK

Posted April 20th, 2022 in airports, appeals, employment, employment tribunals, equality, harassment, Islam, news, religious discrimination, terrorism by sally

‘Anis Ali, a Muslim, worked for the Heathrow Express which was at the relevant time run by the first respondent, Heathrow Express Operating Company Ltd. The second respondent, Redline Assured Security Ltd, was responsible for carrying out security checks at the airport and the Heathrow Express stations. The checks involved creating and leaving suspicious objects to test how security officers responded to them, and in August 2017 it carried out a test using a bag containing a box, some electric cable and, visible at the top, a piece of paper with the words “Allahu Akbar” written in Arabic. Subsequently, the Operating Company sent an e-mail reporting on the results of the test and including images of the bag and the note to a group of employees – including Mr Ali.’

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Law & Religion UK, 19th April 2022

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Going backwards: statutory sick pay after the pandemic – by Dr Lisa Rodgers – UK Labour Law

Posted April 20th, 2022 in consultations, coronavirus, employment, government departments, news, statutory sick pay by sally

‘The coronavirus pandemic has seen unprecedented interference by governments in many aspects of our working lives. In terms of labour law, some of the changes made by the UK government during the pandemic have been deregulatory and served to erode protection for workers (for example, through increasing flexibility in working time for key workers: Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. For the most part though, these changes have increased worker protection and provided significant support for UK businesses and employees. The two furlough schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the accompanying Self-Employment Income Support Scheme have been widely judged as pandemic success stories, with the CJRS supporting 11.6 million people and playing a clear role in limiting job losses. Likewise, changes to the sick pay system during the pandemic have been positive, serving to increase access to the scheme and reduce the administrative burden on both employees and their employers.’

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UK Labour Law, 12th April 2022

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Teacher wins £850k settlement following classroom assault – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 20th, 2022 in assault, compensation, damages, employment, health & safety, news, personal injuries, psychiatric damage, school children, teachers by sally

‘A teacher who was assaulted by a student has been awarded £850,000 in compensation following a personal injury claim, his union has reported.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

System failure led to default judgment against leading law firm – Legal Futures

Posted April 13th, 2022 in costs, default judgments, disability discrimination, disabled persons, employment, employment tribunals, equality, law firms, news, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Leading legal aid firm Duncan Lewis has been ordered to pay a former director costs of £6,500 for setting aside a default employment tribunal judgment caused by its internal failures.’

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Legal Futures, 13th April 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Litigator’s claim against ex-firm struck out for unless order failure – Legal Futures

Posted April 12th, 2022 in delay, employment, employment tribunals, law firms, news, solicitors, time limits, unfair dismissal by sally

‘A civil litigator with experience of employment disputes has had an unfair dismissal claim against his former firm struck out for failing to comply with an unless order.’

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Legal Futures, 12th April 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Warburton v. Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police: Applying the Statutory Test – Easier Said Than Done – Littleton Chambers

Posted April 8th, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, employment, employment tribunals, equality, news, police by sally

‘The Claimant’s case centred primarily around an allegation that he had been victimised, contrary to s.27 Equality Act 2010. His contention was that the Respondent police force had refused his application to become a police officer because he had outstanding Employment Tribunal proceedings alleging discrimination against another police force. Those proceedings were a protected act.’

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Littleton Chambers, 21st March 2022

Source: littletonchambers.com

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted April 7th, 2022 in education, employment, energy, legislation, nuclear power by sally

2022 c. 15 – Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022

2022 c. 13 – Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Class as a protected characteristic? – 12 King’s Bench Walk

Posted April 6th, 2022 in chambers articles, employment, equality, news by sally

‘The social, economic and cultural effects of the pandemic are likely to cast a long shadow into the future, exacerbating existing inequalities and creating new ones. One impact is that social inequality is set to rise. Could social class be protected under the Equality Act 2010, and what would it mean for employees and employers?’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 10th March 2022

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Delaying new law ‘gives green light to rogue employers’, says TUC – The Guardian

Posted April 4th, 2022 in bills, delay, employment, news, trade unions by sally

‘Britain’s top union leader has written to the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, to warn the government that dropping plans to legislate for tougher employment rights after mass sackings at P&O Ferries would “side with bad bosses”.’

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The Guardian, 4th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

What you need to know about the new High Potential Individual visa route – EIN Blog

Posted April 4th, 2022 in employment, immigration, news, universities, visas by sally

‘The High Potential Individual (HPI) route is similar to the Graduate route but offered to recent graduates of the top ranking universities outside the UK. This route opens on 30 May 2022.’

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EIN Blog, 31st March 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Employers can take action against striking workers, Court of Appeal decides – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 30th, 2022 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, employment, employment tribunals, industrial action, news, trade unions by sally

‘The English and Welsh Court of Appeal has reasserted the previously held view that protection against detriment on the grounds of “trade union activities” does not extend to strike action.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th March 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com